昔
past; old times; long ago; ancient times; decade
Kanji 1481
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Discover how calling something "old-fashioned" in Japanese can be an insult or a compliment. Learn to say that the recent past feels like ancient history. Also learn to say "I used to be a different person," "Hollywood isn’t what it used to be," and "That was then and this is now." Find out how although 昔 can currently mean "decade," it once meant a time span as long as 66 years!
Revision history:
Aug. 23, 2017: p. 9: Made two changes to the photo caption, indicating that 昔懐かしい (むかしなつかしい) is one word meaning "old-timey" and changing the yomi of 村内 (interior of a village) to そんない.
Jan. 23, 2016: p. 1: Revised the photo caption to show that the whole shop is called いま昔きもの江口屋. Also added a link to the shop.
Feb. 28, 2014: Originally published.
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